Sacramento, CA - Responding to a raft of reports detailing
flaws in electronic voting systems, California Secretary of
State Kevin Shelley today announced that he is requiring all
electronic voting systems purchased by California counties
to provide a paper printout to allow voters to verify their
votes and auditors to verify election results.

The Secretary of State is responsible for certifying all
voting machines used for elections within the state of
California.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has urged election
officials and legislators to require that electronic voting
machines use publicly reviewed software and generate a paper
record, which would allow voters to verify their votes as
well as create a "paper trail" for potential recounts.

"Secretary of State Shelley has taken a courageous and
important step in response to the growing public concern
about the security of voting machines," said EFF Legal
Director Cindy Cohn. "Paper audit trails are currently the
best way to prevent anyone from bungling or stealing our
elections."

"We hope that California can continue to lead the country
and the world in implementing secure electronic voting
standards," added EFF Activist Ren Bucholz.

"By requiring a voter verified paper trail, the Secretary of
State has taken a critical step toward preserving the
integrity of the voting process in the wake of new
technologies that change the ways in which we vote,"
commented California Voter Foundation President Kim
Alexander.

According to the California Voter Foundation, 9% of
California counties used electronic voting systems in the
October 2003 recall election, and 32-40% will likely use
electronic voting systems in the upcoming March 2004
elections.

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